Mediators appointed by the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) must place the protection of human rights at the heart of their
efforts to end the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, Amnesty International said
today.

The mediators are set to return to Cote d'Ivoire on 3
January in an attempt to find a solution to the political deadlock
following the disputed 28 November presidential election.

"People
are living in fear of being shot, arrested or abducted by the security
forces or militias close to Laurent Gbagbo," said Erwin van der Borght,
Amnesty International's Africa program director.

"ECOWAS must
send a strong signal that everything possible should be done to respect
and protect the human rights of the population."

Amnesty
International has received reports of extrajudicial executions,
arbitrary arrests, abductions and forced disappearances, mainly
committed by the security forces and militias loyal to Laurent Gbagbo,
who the UN has said lost the election but has refused to hand over
power.

The UN has said that at least 173 people have been killed
during post-election violence and that more than 14,000 people have fled
C√É¬¥te d'Ivoire to seek refuge in neighboring countries, including
Liberia.

Amnesty International is also particularly concerned
about recent attacks on the UN Operation in C√É¬¥te d'Ivoire (UNOCI) which
is trying to investigate reported human rights violations.

Also on 28 December a UNOCI
convoy was attacked in the district of Yopougon in Abidjan and a
Bangladeshi soldier was wounded in the arm with a machete.

On 29 December 2010, another UNOCI patrol came under gunfire in Abobo, Abidjan.

"ECOWAS
mediators must formally protest against the attacks against UNOCI and
demand that peacekeeping forces can safely conduct their mission of
monitoring and protecting human rights," said Erwin van der Borght.

At
a press conference in Abidjan on 29 December 2010, Alain Le Roy Deputy
Secretary General in charge of the UN peacekeeping force, attributed the
attacks against their forces to "propaganda" and "hate speech"
broadcast by the Ivorian state broadcaster.

Amnesty International
urges ECOWAS to reiterate that no Ivorian politician should incite the
commission of human rights violations or abuses and warn that
perpetrators of such abused could be held to account by the
International Criminal Court.